Astigmatism – Symptoms and Care

Eyes are the most delicate organs of your body. With that said, there may be small or big problems that can affect your eyesight. Astigmatism is one of them. It is a refractive eye disorder which leads to blurred vision.

What is Astigmatism?

It is not an uncommon problem. 20-30% of people in the world suffer from this problem. In a normal situation a person’s cornea is perfectly spherical in shape. When the light enters the cornea, it is in turn refracted equally in all directions. This causes a focused and a perfect image to be formed on the retina. But such is not the case with those that suffer from astigmatism. Here the shape of the cornea is distorted and results in the image so formed being distorted. In short, a person suffers hazy and imperfect vision. Continuous blurry vision is one symptom of astigmatism. Even from very close distances, things will look blurry and hazy. It is also followed by dizziness, tiredness, red eyes, and the inability to focus on anything in particular.

Causes of Astigmatism

Astigmatism has been attributed to being a hereditary problem. However, research has also shown that it occurs to those who need to focus on something for long hours, typically said, one who spends hours in front of the computer, or those that are engaged in sharp crafts like knitting or sewing or other such work. In short, one that needs to focus on the minutest of things. Bad posture has also been said to be one of that causes as well.

Treatments for Astigmatism

One can be affected in various degrees. More often than not, the problem can be treated with lenses or eye surgery. Specific lenses help treat the problem. However, if the damage is severe refractive surgery may be prescribed. This surgery corrects the curvature and shape or the cornea. It makes the eye perfectly spherical and therefore objects to look perfect.

If you sense some kind of a blurriness which lasts from a few seconds to a stretch, it may help to consult with your optometrist at the earliest possible to help mitigate the damage.